Buddhist Meditation
Systematic and Practical

CW35
Chapter XVI
HOW TO RECOGNIZE AND TREAT ALL SORTS OF MEDITATION TROUBLES AND
HOW TO KNOW FALSE REALIZATIONS

A Talk by the Buddhist Yogi
C. M. CHEN

Written Down by
REVEREND B. KANTIPALO

First Published in 1967

Chapter XVI

HOW TO
RECOGNIZE AND TREAT ALL SORTS OF MEDITATION TROUBLES AND HOW TO KNOW FALSE
REALIZATIONS

As the listener and transcriber approached the yogi's hermitage, they were
absorbed in discussing being both a bhiksu and a
bodhisattva. Bhante noted that many Mahayana texts
clearly state that unless one is first a bhiksu, it
is almost impossible to find the correct time and environment to practice
bodhisattva life. The transcriber pointed out that to
many in the West these ideals seemed opposed to one another. Bhante replied that the fault lies here with the Theravada
who makes so little of the bodhisattva ideal while stressing the bhiksu life directed at the arhat attainment. The transcriber added that part of the
blame must lie with Western pseudo-Zen, which often fails to take into account
the backbone of strict monastic life in Chan (Zen).

Reflecting on this
attitude of trying to get "something for nothing," we came to Mr.
Chen's hermitage. When we had entered and were seated, the transcriber noticed various foods arranged on a bench. He said, "Mr. Chen is going to
have a fire-sacrifice." "Yes," said the yogi, "tomorrow is
Christmas Day, when I make a special sacrifice each year." Bhante remarked, "In
England
, such foods go into the
belly, not into the fire!"

Mr. Chen said, "I
have prepared a long chapter on 'Troubles and False Realizations,' so we should
start quickly!"

A. Brief Introduction

To begin
with, I did not intend to discuss these matters, as I thought that few of our
readers have practiced meditation extensively. I have laid more stress on the
systematic aspect of our book in order to lay down a firm basis of right view.
Therefore, there is less emphasis on the practical aspect in this book.
However, you have asked me about the four foundations of Tantric practice, and
this shows me that you at any rate both like to practice, as well as being
scholar-bhiksus, so I am very much encouraged to give
this chapter in detail. If there are even a few readers who like to practice,
then indeed we should make this chapter very complete and thorough. Therefore,
I have gathered here all possible troubles and false realizations in the three yanas. Some of the details are from my own experiences and
others are the precious instructions of gurus and not given to common persons.
Still, some readers may understand them, so it will be of profit to include
them here. My guru said, "We should not talk to neophytes on matters of
deep realization. One should only discuss some realizations, hiding away others
until one has truly realized them." As guidance for the readers, we here
explain troubles and false realizations, arranged according to our whole system
of practice, from Hinayana to Mahayana and then on to Vajrayana.

B. Troubles and Treatments

In this first
major section, we have a number of topics, of which the first one is:

1.
Temptations

These are
related to our five samapattis and the five poisons:

a. Impurity.
When we practice the Hinayana precepts, many
temptations will come. When one is practicing the samapatti on impurity, one may experience many such temptations. Even when I was an
ordinary layman, I tried to renounce intercourse with my wife. I was, however,
troubled in dreams by naked women who even came to kiss me. Such women I
treated as enemies and implored Guan Yin to save me from them, though I think
now that they were not real demons but Guan Yin appearing in different forms to
test me. While I practiced these Hinayana meditations, at the same time I practiced according to the
AmitabhaSchool
and repeated that Buddha's holy
name. When such "demons" occurred, I had only, therefore, to call
upon Guan Yin and she always came to help me.

Success in
the impurity meditations is indicated by whether one can maintain the idea of
impurity even in dreams.

b. Anger.
Practice of the merciful mind relieves the sorrow of anger. When I was still at
home, meditating there as a hermit, I was sometimes tempted to be angry with my
mother (though she was my protector), when she did not bring things to me at
the right time—my food, for instance. Thus I have experience of
this sorrow. When anger comes, it must be suppressed, but if one only does
this, it is easy to get disease of the lungs, why? Because
the inner energy of anger has a natural tendency to rise up, whereas in
suppression one keeps it down. Therefore, at the time when one feels
anger arising, breathe out more than in.

Mr. Chen demonstrated
this method in which he blew out air from his mouth with a gentle hissing
sound.

It is quicker
to get rid of the excess energy in this way rather than by exhaling through the
nose. If the anger is really intense, then some of the relaxation exercises will help restore the balance of energies in the body. There is a new
art of relaxation these days, and some of the exercises are good and should
certainly be used.

c. Elements.
Meditation on discrimination of the elements rids one of pride. When one
practices as a hermit, pride easily increases. One may treat others as
ignorant, worldly fools, while in one's own mind it seems that one is just like
the Buddha, thinking, "I am a holy man, I am a hermit." Such thoughts
are common temptations for one who gives all his time to meditation. Even those
who are not hermits but do a little meditation each day may look down on others
who do none. As one's mind contains pride, so dreams may occur where men praise
you and say that you are bound for Full Enlightenment. They may also say that
in past lives you were a bodhisattva.

Bhante interjected here that there was quite a lot
concerning this matter in the Astasahasrika (Prajnaparamita Sutra). Mr. Chen continued:

Such dreams
are just some demon who wants to harm you, or else a bodhisattva is tempting
you to prove your worth. One must always keep one's mind humble, and see
clearly that in any case there is no self to be found among the elements.
Worship much; that is a good treatment for this temptation. A meditator should think, "Maybe it is my pride causing
such dreams," and he or she should worship the elder monks (or all the
monks if he is a layman), make reverent prostrations to the Buddha, and be
humble even to attendants and those who are junior to one. This is the Hinayana treatment, but one may also consider this matter
from the Mahayana view: "Every person is included in the Buddha-nature.
May all those beings gain Full Enlightenment sooner than myself!"

d. Ignorance.
For the sorrow of ignorance, practice the meditation on causation (conditioned
co-production or pratitya-samutpada). During one's
practice of this, one's sensitivity increases, and the mind tends to hold on
tightly to good deeds and to be very distressed or angry about unskillful ones. Suppose one wants to burn incense but the
servant does not bring it in time—this might easily upset one. Also, after the
commission of evil, one experiences great pain. Whether good or bad deeds, the
mind is not quiet. In such a case, treat everything as void; do not love it too
much nor arouse much hatred. Do not enjoy good dreams too much, nor hate bad
dreams.

e. Breath.
Breathing meditations cure doubts and distractions. Not only is the mind hard
to control, but the breath is very difficult as well. It is a very common
condition for a man not to be aware of his breathing and just to carry on with
his usual activities without a thought given to the breath. After one has tried
to control it, one will agree that it is difficult work. Sometimes the breath
is too quick, so at this time count the breaths slowly. At other times, it is
very short; to correct this, inhalations should be made longer than
exhalations. When one counts the number of breaths, count slowly, only counting
the inhalations.

Slightly digressing, the
yogi instructed:

When the
inhalations are made a little longer than the out-breaths, this is good for
long life. Regular, slow counting of the breaths is necessary and if a mistake
is made, one should start counting that series again.

The yogi added:

As regards
lying down, always lie on one's right side (the position adopted by the
Buddha), as this also is helpful in obtaining long life. Only lie on the left
side when too much food has been taken, in order to aid digestion.

These are
some examples, but for every reader there must be some special treatment for
their particular poisons. It is best to take the advice of one's guru on this
matter, as he will know all one's temptations and their correct treatment.

We see from
the above that temptations not only come from sicknesses and demons, but also
can be products of our own mental states.

2. Bad
Conditions

Four
renunciations are very helpful for meditation and should be kept in mind. These
are given by the guru Gampopa and overcome four bad
conditions, as follows:

a. Renounce
one's native place to get rid of the evil condition of cause.

"You have both
become bhiksus and now live far from your homeland;
it is good," commented the yogi.

b. Renounce
the occasions of all the five sorrows. For example, if one does not go to the
market, or to the houses of prostitutes or to gambling dens, then one limits
the sorrows' arising, thus cutting off the evil conditions that accompany them.

c. Renounce
evil friends and so rid oneself of the evils of condition.

d. Renounce
the inner four desires: for unhealthy emotions, beauty, food, and sexual
intercourse; thereby the evil condition of continuity is cut off.

These
conditions and their riddance are very important.

3. Distress
Caused by Demons

a. Types of
Demons. Firstly, one should know what sorts of demons there are. In the sutras,
a group of four demons are mentioned and another group of ten.

i. The common
group of four: the demons of the sorrows, of the five aggregates, of death, and
of Devaputra Mara.

ii. The group
of ten is composed of the demons of: the five aggregates, the five sorrows,
karma, mind, death, devas, good deeds, samadhi, good scholarship, and the volitions of Buddhadharma wisdom.

Whereas the
first nine are found in the Hinayana, the tenth,
called the "king of demons," is only seen in the Mahayana and Vajrayana.

They are
taken from the commentary on the Avatamsaka Sutra.

The transcriber noted, "Ah! They have made the list up to ten again!" Mr. Chen
laughed.

A second
category is known as the army of host of demons. Again ten, these are: the
"military" demons of desire, grief, hunger and thirst, inordinate
craving for passionate love, sleep, terror, doubt and remorse, great anger,
gaining money and striving for an undeserved good reputation, and pride. From
their names, these soldier-demons are easy to recognize and one should be able
to distinguish all such kinds of demons very well indeed.

b. Places Favorable to Demons.

"I am just among
demons," exclaimed Mr. Chen, laughing, "as you will see, and you dare
to come here!"

"Never mind,"
said the transcriber, "you have the four great
kings outside your door!" Mr. Chen gave the list:

The following
places favorable to demons are: where a building is
too large, too new, too dilapidated, too near to a road, near a lake, near many
trees, surrounded by flowers, with many fruit trees…

As the last two applied
to our Vihara, Bhante said,
"Now I know who takes our oranges—I thought it was small boys!" We
all laughed while the yogi went on:

Also, near
famous places, near the presence of incompatible persons, near the place of
entry into another country, near to provincial boundaries, near the frontiers
of states, and, finally, any place where one lacks good friends.

"There does not
seem to be anywhere free from demons," said the listener. "But if you
leave them all," Mr. Chen assured us, "it will indeed be hard for
demons to trouble you."

c. Time.
There is no time when they are not present: every time has its own special
demons. In
China
,
where time is measured by two-hourly watches, each named after an animal,
during each watch a demon may come in the form of the appropriate animal to
plague the meditator. Thus from eleven o'clock to one
o'clock at night is the watch of the rat. Should a demon come in this guise at
that time, just call out to him: "Oh, yes, you are the rat-demon!" By
calling out his name in this way, if it is the demon, he will go. All the
watches are named thus:

Rat

11 P.M.—
1 A
.M.

Ox

1—
3 A
.M.

Tiger

3—
5 A
.M.

Rabbit

5—
7 A
.M.

Dragon

7—
9 A
.M.

Snake

9—
11 A
.M.

Horse

11 A.M.—1 P.M.

Sheep

1—3 P.M.

Monkey

3—5 P.M.

Rooster

5—7 P.M.

Dog

7—9 P.M.

Pig

9—11 P.M.

d. Other
Demons. If at the beginning of one's meditation, one feels the mind unquiet,
then this disturbance may be due to the demon of non-Buddhists. If the
meditation is disturbed from the beginning to the end, it is an illness, not a
demon. And if disturbance is felt only at the beginning and at the end then
this is a demon in the channels. If one practices the Vajrayana,
deep breathing should be used to cure this.

e. Offerings.
Demons may occupy offerings of water, flowers, lamps, etc. For this reason,
there are in the Vajrayana some special mantras for
such cases. However, the common mantra of purification may be used: OM AH HUM,
at which all demons flee.

f. Treatment.
The treatments given for all the above sorts of demons differ in the three yanas. In Hinayana, the common
method is to take the three refuges, which all demons fear. One should note
that in the exoteric yanas there are only three, but
in the esoteric Vajrayana tradition, there is a
fourth refuge—the guru. In this yana,
guru-yoga is the name of visualization practices where one's teacher is
visualized sitting on the top of one's head, where the guru is identified with
the Buddha. This practice demons fear very much, also. Here I have a story:

My friend,
Mr. Huang, received instruction in torga (Thodgal) (see Ch. XIV) but lacked the necessary
preparations. Without these, he went directly to a hermitage to practice. When
he started, a dragon appeared—it was in his bowl when he ate food and was in
front of him when he sat down to meditate. Because of this, he could not
practice at all and so telegraphed our guru, Nuo Na Rinpoche. The guru replied, "You should think of me
seated on the crown of your head." When Mr. Huang received the telegram
and read it, he began immediately to practice in this way. There was a noise
like a clap of thunder and the dragon disappeared, and never to bother him
again. This would not have happened if preparations had been made properly and
if he had known well the guru-yoga.

In Hinayana, besides the refuges, one should think of
impermanence! "Though the demon troubles me now, he is impermanent and
cannot always do so." Also, keep one's mind humble and filled with the
spirit of renunciation. Reflect that one should escape from here into the voidness of non-self. Who, therefore, is afraid? What can
cause trouble, as both the demon and the meditator are marked with non-self?

Mahayana
treatment has two aspects: to meditate reviewing the voidness of abiding entity in both persons and dharmas. The
demon himself is void, and the unwholesome dharmas he
causes to arise in the mind are also sunyata. One may
go further and use the three wheels of sunyata (see
Ch.
X, Part One,
D, 3, b) thus realizing that meditator, demon, and dharmas are all sunyata: then all
demons are vanquished.

Secondly,
there is the meditation on the great compassion (see Ch. X, Part One, D, 3, a).
One may think, "The demon wants my life—I will give it to him; he wants my
limbs—let him have them." Say to him: "Ask for whatever you want and
I shall give it to you." Even demons, being sentient beings, may be
impressed by one's great compassion and then go away. Once when I was
practicing in my hermitage, a friend of mine asked me how my practice was
progressing. I told him, "I practice to gain supernormal powers so that I
may save others." He told my guru this, who said, "He should not
desire such powers, or demons may come." When I was told this, I replied,
"In my (realization of) voidness no demons
appear, and in my practice of the bodhicitta and
great compassion, I do not fear them. I want only to help and to save
them." My friend always remembered this answer and told others of it.

This is the
general treatment of demons according to the Mahayana; that is, not treating
them as enemies, as one does in the Hinayana. In the VimalakirtiNirdesa Sutra, it is
said: "The kings of demons who appear in this world are not really such
but are great bodhisattvas who help you in reverse." I have written a hymn
of praise to all demons on how they render help to the meditator.

We cannot translate it
here as it is very long. Mr. Chen picked up the Chinese book and showed us many
pages of characters.

The general
idea is this: the demon of death helps one to practice impermanence
meditations, and through their practice one gains the benefit of diligence.
With the demon of disease, if one knows how he appears, one will practice very
carefully. The devaputra-demon causes pride, so one
learns from him the necessity of being humble. In the same way, Mahesvara (Siva, who is usually an opponent of Buddhadharma) is regarded in the Mahayana as an emanation
of Guan Yin, who has come to help (see the Lankavatara Sutra).

In the Vajrayana, there are many good methods of dealing with
demons; one could in fact call such ways "demonic methods"—using the
demon to get rid of him. First, however, it is necessary to know the different
kinds of demons so that one may treat them suitably. Demons in the Vajrayana sometimes appear as a Buddha, so one must know
how to distinguish them:

i. Know what
kind of demon one is dealing with.

ii. If the
demon occurs in the form of the yidam (and one
suspects that it is not the latter), then try altering the size of the
appearance, making it as huge as the sky, and then contracting it to tiny
proportions, etc. If that figure can be changed in these ways, then it is a
demon, for Buddhas, bodhisattvas, and devas always appear in a certain fixed size.

At one time,
a
PureLand
follower sat down every day as the
sun set, facing it and continuously intoning the name of Amitabha.
One evening, the sun disappeared behind a mountain, at the foot of which was a
very large tree. To the great joy of that devoted man, Amitabha appeared to him, sixteen feet high and resplendent with all the marks of the
Buddha. After that, he saw this Buddha every evening and as a result he was
blissfully happy. One day he came to a Chan guru to whom he related his
"realization." Said the guru, "You only see a
demon!" Very upset, the poor man asked, "How can this be? He
is exactly the same shape and size as the descriptions of Amitabha relate. There is no demon!" Having pity on him, the guru gave him his
bamboo "chin-rest" and told him, "When you see 'Amitabha' throw this at him." He did as the guru
instructed and the vision disappeared. He wanted to return the bamboo implement
to the master, so he went to pick it up. Lying there was a large serpent, quite
dead. The guru told him, "The demon in that large tree just wanted to make
you happy. Now he is dead, but has taken birth in the
PureLand
—just bury that serpent-body." This is an example of a
demon impersonating a Buddha.

iii. If, when
the practitioner repeats the mantra of the yidam, the
vision disappears—then it is a demon. If it remains, then it is of course the yidam.

iv. Demons
may be recognized by their lack of knowledge of the four initiations of Anuttarayoga. Question the form which has appeared on the
meaning of these initiations. If it cannot explain, it is a demon; if the
vision gives a correct answer, then it is a Buddha. This is especially true of
the fourth initiation—which concerns voidness in the Mahamudra and therefore Enlightenment itself. If one really
understands this and can give some explanation, then there would be no
possibility of being troubled by a demon.

v. Repeat the
four bijas and the mantras surrounding them which are
given one in each initiation. Ask the appeared vision about these initiations.
If it makes a correct reply then it is not a demon.

vii. Then
there is the method of demon-detection given by Mr. Chen's guru:

When a guru
gives one a great wang (initiation), at that time a special vajra-name is
given to the disciple. This should not be written down or told to anyone, not
even to one's wife, husband, parents, or to fellow yogins or yoginis. When one has some doubt as to the
identity of any form, ask it, "What is my secret name?" If it can
tell you, it is the yidam; if not, it is a demon.

We see that
in the Vajrayana there is a sort of intermediate
treatment of demons. The Hinayana idea is to push the
demons far away and make them appear wicked, while the Mahayana makes them seem
to be friendly, thus bringing them very close to the meditator.
Neither of these methods regard the demon as he really
is. Therefore, in the Vajrayana, one knows quite
exactly the status of demons.

g. Mahesvara. It is said that all the demons are controlled by Mahesvara, who has his abode in the sixth and highest
heaven of desire (Paranirmita-vasavartin). At the
time of the Buddha's Mahaparinirvana (Great Passing-Away
from This World) at Kusinagar, many gods came with
offerings for the Lord. Mahesvara also came to give
his gifts, but the Buddha would not take them, saying, "You give my
disciples much trouble, so I shall not accept your gifts unless you give me
your mantra as well so that my disciples may use it."

Once my
friend, Mr. Chang, was meditating in Kalimpong and
built a shrine-room higher than the
temple
of
Siva
nearby. Evidently
neither the god nor the priests of that temple liked this. Every morning my
friend used to recite the Sutra of Perfect Enlightenment, but one day when he
did so, a large black phallus appeared before him. Greatly disturbed by this
manifestation, he came immediately to see me. I realized what the trouble was
and told him, "You should repeat this mantra of Mahesvara,
and then all will be well."

The next
morning when the phallus appeared, he repeated the mantra only once and it
disappeared, never disturbing him again.

Hinduism has
followed Buddhism to the West, so Mahesvara may cause
some trouble for Buddhists there also. For this reason, this mantra, until now
kept very secret, is given here so that it may be of use to the readers:

OM MAHADEVA TSA
VUPADEVISHYA HARALISA VASHAM GURUHO

Sometimes, as
we have said, one may obtain "reverse help" from this king of demons,
but his usual tactics are to make many doubts arise, from quite worldly ones
such as a casual relationship, to spiritual ones regarding the Dharma of the
Buddha. This demon-king does not want people to have any faith in Buddhadharma, so he tries to destroy it. We see, however,
that in the Vajrayana we are able to treat him and
all his hosts in the manner they warrant.

4. Ghosts

The
difference between these and demons is that the latter cause mental and
physical trouble, while the former can only cause bodily sufferings. Examples
of their bad activities are: ghosts causing blood to come from the mouth;
others in water causing skin diseases; some powerful spirits coming at night, appearing
as a patch of white light, and causing many quarrels; and other female ghosts
causing seminal discharges.

In Hinayana, the treatment is to take refuge and make
offerings to the ghosts. The Mahayana treatment is to see them all as void or
to treat them just like one's parents.

Once when Milarepa had momentarily left his cave, he returned to see
five spirits seated inside. In spite of the fact that his cave was not in any
one of the inauspicious places, still they had come. Milarepa,
thinking that they might be powerful ghosts, did not dare to enter. Then he
thought, "Perhaps they are spirits of the earth," so he composed a
song for them. Even after hearing this, they did not go. Then he used a Vajrayana mantra to make them fear him, but still they did
not go. Then he thought of the void in Mahamudra—that
all beings are within the Enlightened Entity. "You spirits, you are my
friends, my lovers, you will sleep with me
tonight." Holding to the Great Pride of Mahamudra to accompany these reflections, he rushed into the cave—and nothing was there!

Some spirits
take advantage of the sounds and shapes of rats and mice and then fall down
upon you. If that happens, a meditator will feel very
heavy, so heavy that he or she can scarcely move. I have had an experience of
this "mad rat" falling down upon me. When this occurred, I exclaimed,
"Eh! Why?" Then I repeated a mantra, but this had no effect. Then I
meditated on Mahamudra and this manifestation
vanished.

Of course, it
is not possible to meditate in this way at first, so if one is always troubled
by such ghosts then procure good instructions from one's guru. Another method
is to imagine that the spirit comes into one's right thumb and then, using a Vajrayana mantra, tuck the thumb into the fist and hold
fast. I have done this with a particularly troublesome spirit which I then saw
in meditation as very small and thin. Not wishing to harm it, I opened my hand
and let it go away. It is useful to repeat the appropriate mantra before sleep,
and go to sleep with the right hand held in this mudra.
Then if some spirit is causing trouble, he will find himself in bondage; not
liking that he will take the first opportunity to depart.

5. Disease

Two sorts of
physical diseases may be distinguished.

a. Imbalance
of the Four Elements. It is said that there are 101 diseases connected with
each element, so altogether 404 physical diseases may arise in this way. Thus
one should be careful to take wholesome food, pure water, breathe clean air,
etc., just as modern science and medicine recommend.

Do not think
that you can cure yourself by your meditation. The Buddha himself told his
disciples to use the correct medicines for their illnesses, so one should not
hesitate to apply modern methods if they will result in a cure. Some meditators in
China
had too much faith in the
power of mantras or conceit about their own attainment in meditation, and so
refused to take tablets or to have injections. Such an attitude is indeed
foolish unless one's accomplishment in meditation is very great.

It is
sensible to use mantras, too, and practice one's meditation, taking prescribed
medicines as well. Besides Gautama Buddha's good advice to his disciples on
this subject, we should also remember the Buddha of Medicine who can certainly
help us (the TathagataBhaisajyaguru).

b. The second
kind of disease is that of the specific organs, in
China
classified into five types.
This subject is not essential to our present inquiry, so we will not discuss
it.

c. Diseases
Caused by Past Karma. National Teacher Wu Da, who was
extremely learned and sometimes practiced meditation, was, because of his great
accomplishments, offered a golden throne by the emperor. Seated upon this, he
became a little proud. Consequently, a spirit took advantage of his weakness
and entered his body, causing a face-shaped carbuncle on
his right knee. The spirit told him, "For seven lives you have practiced Chan
very nicely and all that time I have waited for my chance." In
excruciating pain, the teacher consulted many doctors, but to no avail. Then he
prayed earnestly to Guan Yin, who appeared to him and told him to treat the
disorder with a special river water. She explained to
the teacher that in a past life he had killed what was now a spirit, who had
waited to take revenge. From this treatment the teacher was cured, and after
that he compiled a work in two large volumes known as the "Confession with
Water," in which he gathered from the full extent of Buddhist literature
all the misdeeds and their cures, with detailed instructions on how to make
confession in these different cases.

The karma
causing diseases which are not caused by a derangement of the four elements
should be confessed, and some spiritual remedy sought in addition to medical
treatments. Such diseases are difficult to cure by a doctor's advice and very
frequently they present rare symptoms. One of my friends had a small hole at
the bottom of his spine from which white matter oozed. No doctor seemed able to
cure him, although he consulted many. At last he came to believe in Buddhism,
and decided to repeat the Diamond Sutra many times. This he did and was cured.

Another
friend's father had been ill for many years and was now reduced to only skin
and bone. Although he wished to, he could not die. Every night his two sons had
to sleep on either side of him to hold the weight of the quilt off his pain-wrecked
body. My friend asked me what to do, so I told him to invite a good bhiksu to his house and ask him to repeat the Diamond Sutra
for seven days. He did this and it happened that on the third day the old man
was released from his agonies.

d. Some
diseases may be caused by ghosts. One should make puja to the Buddhas and to one's protectors, as well as
making offerings to these ghosts. Practices like generous almsgiving and being
careful not to give harm (keeping the precepts) are also helpful.

e. Madness.
Four kinds are of interest to us.

i. Of love, or infatuation
with a member of the opposite sex. For this, practice the meditations on
impurity until the madness breaks up.

ii. Caused by
improper medicine. If by taking other medicines the madness may be cured, so
well and good, but one should be very careful about what drugs one takes in the
first place.

iii. As a result
of the mantras of non-Buddhists. On account of this danger one should not make
unnecessary contact with them, nor argue with them, nor, of course, do them any
harm. This sort of malady should be cured by asking one's guru for his advice.

iv. As the
fruit of karma. For instance, a person dies after having been bitten by a mad
dog. But why did that particular person meet that particular mad dog? This may
be a karmic result. Similarly, why are some people born as idiots, or others
degenerate into mental imbalance? The Buddhist realizes that in such cases it
may be a heavy karma fruiting in a terrible way.

6. Particular
Obstacles in Meditation

a. The
Obstacle of Mercy. Usually this quality is a virtue, but it may become an
obstacle, as the story of Savaripa shows. This guru,
one of the Eighty-four Accomplished Ones of Tantric practice, had two sisters
and both were his partners in yoga. One of them was in the habit of taking
small parasites from her guru's body and eating them. Now Savaripa had a disciple, Maitripa, who had the obstacle of
mercy: to begin with, he thought, "He has taken his two sisters to wife
and that is bad enough. But now one of them destroys these poor small creatures
by eating them alive." However, Maitripa had an
attendant wiser than he and that attendant saw that these small animals all
achieved Full Enlightenment by dying in this way. He even lamented that he was
a man, with no chance of getting Enlightenment so quickly. Savaripa knew of this attendant's wisdom and with a snap of the fingers enabled him to
fly through the air and then attain heavenly birth. At the same time, the guru
and his two consorts disappeared, leaving Maitripa to
bewail his loss. For many years he was not able to meet them again.

From this
story we should also understand that the usual canons of conduct need not apply
to those Fully Enlightened Ones (though they often abide by it). Vajrayana and Chan gurus may sometimes appear to act in a
"bad" manner, but they do this strictly as skillful means and have, besides this, the resources of supernormal powers with which to
convert others. Their actions are not comparable to those of common
unenlightened people, nor can their standards of conduct be used by those still
ruled by the five poisons. One should therefore be careful not to judge an
enlightened mind too quickly.

b. The
Obstacle of Propriety. In general, of course, for the great majority of meditators, not to speak of common persons, it is very
beneficial to abide by recognized standards of conduct. Both in ordinary
worldly life and in the training of the Hinayana,
ethical behavior is very useful and necessary; but
if, in the Vajrayana, one always holds too strictly
to this, it may hinder one's progress. For example, TsongKhapa and many Chan masters did not take dakinis or practice the third initiation yogas—thus they failed to achieve the eminence of Padmasambhava. To hold to formal rules after sublimation in
the Mahayana is the obstacle of propriety. Some teachers dare not take a dakini for fear of criticism by their own disciples or
supporters.

c. The
Obstacle of Small Enlightenment Accomplishment. This is a block to Full
Enlightenment. If one manages to gain a little supernormal power, develops
facility in a few dhyanas, finds many disciples to
worship one, or is asked because of one's eloquence to preach—all these are
examples of this obstacle. In the biographies of the patriarchs of the
TianTaiSchool
,
many have, towards the ends of their lives, confessed that they had not been
able to win the Highest Enlightenment just because they had achieved the
limited eminence of being learned teachers.

I have also
had some experiences of this obstacle. An unidentified voice once told me in my
meditation that in a certain place buried under the earth there was a golden
Buddha-image. I did not investigate this matter since, after all, a golden
image is a small thing to discover—what should I do with it?

On another
occasion, a god of the earth told me that inside a certain hill, there was a
golden chicken with some little chicks of the same metal. These were offered to
me so that I could sell them and become rich. But I had enough food, and if I
possessed wealth I might easily be killed by robbers. Later, I asked the local
inhabitants, "Is there any tradition of a golden chicken and chicks buried
under that mountain?" "Yes" was their reply.

I have
refused many such things offered to me for they would only prove a hindrance.
Now, instead of being delayed by such worldly discoveries, many instructions of
the Dharmakaya have occurred in my meditations. These
are to me more valuable than the many discoveries of vajras,
images, and so on, made by sages in
Tibet
. It is true that they do not
keep such things and give them to some holy shrine for veneration, but if we
have the highest goal of Full Enlightenment as our aim, we should then put
aside these matters.

d. Becoming a
Leader Too Soon. Certainly one should become a guru of others, and the Mahayana
emphasis on this matter is excellent; but in Vajrayana it is said, "First attain Full Enlightenment, and then ultimately save
others." To be a leader of too many, too soon, may, instead of leading to
spiritual progress, lead to the downfall of the leader and the stagnation of
his followers.

These four
obstacles have been gathered from my own experiences and have not been
discussed by any of the ancient sages.

e. The
Obstacle of Avoiding Obstacles

At one of our last meetings,
Mr. Chen added another obstacle. The transcriber intended to go to
Thailand
to practice meditation where, he thought, conditions were more favorable. The yogi exclaimed, "There is another
obstacle: The obstacle of avoiding obstacles! If you always seek quiet places
for meditation then you will become attached to quietness. Then, how can you
ever succeed in meditating where there is noise?" Bhante pointed out, "There are always sounds in the quietest place, even if it is
only the birds in the trees or jackals howling in the distance. Unless you have
an underground room, complete silence is impossible to find." Mr. Chen
disapproved of going underground to escape from noise and then continued:
"A silent place may be helpful to the neophyte but it may prove a
hindrance to further development."

To give
another example, he told the following story:

There was
once a monk in
China
who kept the Vinaya very strictly. He never let his
eyes wander toward girls and women. Whenever any visiting patron brought with
him a wife or daughter, the monk kept his gaze fixed on the ground in front of
him. Because he was so mindfully restrained, he accumulated many merits, and
after death when his body was burned, many hard, shiny gem-like remains (sarira) were found in the ashes, and many people worshipped
these relics. However, when ladies took them into their hands, these sarira vanished; he would be able, it seems, to save only
men—not women!

These are two
matters to illustrate what we mean by this obstacle.

Bhante then gave another: He said, "I knew a bhiksu from
Thailand
who once asked me nervously, 'Is it true that in the West, ladies might try to
shake hands with a bhiksu?' When I
replied, 'Yes, it is the custom there,' that monk exclaimed, 'Oh! I
could not bear that!' Thinking that he objected to the custom, I asked him why.
In a shaking voice, he replied, 'If a woman touched my
hand, I would be filled with passion!'" We all laughed.

7. Conclusion
to All Troubles

Again from my
experience, there are four principles to get rid of all these.

a. Sunyata. Meditate on voidness very thoroughly, and attain a degree of assurance-realization. There can be no
trouble afterwards, as this is a powerful and very effective method.

b. Develop
great bodhicitta. After living in a cave for two
years, I got a skin disease. This cave, in the mountains of
China
, has two
entrances on either side of a mountain and runs many miles underground. As a river flows through it and moisture drips from the roof, the
air is saturated with wetness. My clothes were always damp, so to keep
myself dry and warm enough, it was necessary to practice deep-breathing methods
to increase my bodily fire. After this, I came to
India
on a pilgrimage and had not enough
time to keep up with the deep breathing. As a result, I contracted
"impetigo," which rapidly spread all over my body. I had to stay for
a month in a hospital to be cured of this. While I was there, the demon of that
disease, black and fearsome, came to me and tried to shake me backwards and
forwards. I visualized him as very large and asked him to enter my body. I
prayed that all the diseases of the world might afflict me so that others might
be rid of them. The demon then said to me, "I fear your bodhicitta" and instantly left me, after which I was
cured.

c.
Renunciation. Renounce the world and have faith in the Buddha. There are
different stages here. Firstly, one should discard the fleshly body and through
meditational attainment faithfully enter the hands of the gods; this much at
least is done in Hinayana. Then one should discard
consciousness in sunyata sublimation and enter the
hand of the Buddha. After this, one must discard the desire for all things by
transmuting it into love for the dakini and be
protected by her. Finally, life itself is discarded, everything, and through
completely realized voidness one enters the bosom of
the Dharmakaya, where one is protected from
everything and where no demon can possibly do one any harm. All these conditions
are very important.

d. Vajrayana Practice. One should have learned enough of the
methods of the Vajrayana in the position of
consequence of Buddhahood. Even demons that are
extremely hard to subdue will then be vanquished as the accounts of Padmasambhava relate.

C. False Realizations

1. General
Insights. False realizations of insight are caused by the first nine of the
following ten factors; the tenth is not false realization. They are:

a. Caused by
the five skandhas.

Mr. Chen gave the
example of a meditator's vision which instead of
being the yidam was only the product of imagination.

b. Caused by
the distresses and delusions of daily living.

c. Caused by
sickness or duhkha, but appearing to be insights into
the Four Noble Truths.

d. Caused by
the influence of karma.

e. Caused by
Mara, the demonic king, and his forces.

f. Caused by
conditions of samatha and samapatti.

g. Caused by
various false views and doubts.

h. Caused by
pride in one's progress and the delusion that one has attained nirvana.

i. Caused by
the temptation to be content with the lower Hinayana nirvana instead of going on to bodhisattvahood.

j. Caused by
the true realization of Buddhahood.

2. Lights.
There are insights which appear as light, and there are many degrees of it.
These different kinds, though referred to here and
there, have not been detailed in any one book. The lights of false realization
differ from the light of the Dharmakaya in the
following ways:

a. A subject
sees the light dualistically, as an object. Seeing the Dharmakaya light is a non-dual experience.

b. The false
light is limited in area; perhaps seen just in front of the eye, in one room,
filling a whole building. The Dharmakaya light is
unlimited.

c. The false
light is dull in color. See "The Tibetan Book of
the Dead," where visions of dull colors are said
to lead only to rebirth in the six realms (of gods, asuras,
humans, animals, hungry ghosts, and hell-beings).

d. Void
Nature. Even though light is seen like the autumn sky, clear and cloudless,
still it is truly the Dharmakaya only if seen after
full accomplishment of voidness sublimation in the
Mahayana. Without this experience, light seen can't be that of the Dharmakaya. Religions teaching the existence of a soul or
self do not understand the necessity of the experience of sunyata for complete spiritual realization. Nor may one identify the "Divine
Self" or "Godhead" with the Dharmakaya,
for the former concepts may be known without any experience of the void,
whereas the latter is experienced only after the sublimation process. Those who
equate this or that with the Dharmakaya, should be
questioned in this way: "Is this your own experience (not merely some
theory)? By what practice did you destroy the subtle ideas of self?"

As Mr. Chen said,
"Without cause, how can there be result? Without practice, how can there
be realization?"

e. Stages of
Light.

i. Hinayana. To perceive a true realization-light in the Hinayana, one must be accomplished in the non-self
meditations. If, besides being skilled in purification and renunciation, one
has not realized that no self exists in the five aggregates, then the true
light of the arhat cannot be experienced.

ii. Mahayana.
After accomplishment of the six perfections and the realization of non-self in
persons and dharmas, the light of the bodhisattva
will issue out.

iii. Vajrayana. The wisdom-light of the Buddha will issue from
the Dharmakaya accompanied by the Nirmanakaya and the Sambhogakaya of the great compassion. For
this to occur, skill is necessary in the identification of the four voidnesses and the four blisses (see Ch. XIII, Part Two, A) in the Mahasukha meditations (third initiation). In this esoteric practice, the source of the
light, its area and character, are quite different from the foregoing.

3. False
Realizations of Nirvana.

Because there
are different degrees of realization of nirvana, these are sometimes confused.

a. Light of Dhyanas. One mistakes the light of the four dhyanas (see Ch. VII, K) to be the Hinayana nirvana. In the fourth of these states, it may seem to the meditator as though all his sorrows and defilement are eliminated, and even joy has been
abandoned, leaving only equanimity, mindfulness, and one-pointedness.
He or she should recognize that this is achievement only of a dhyana of the form-world (rupavacara)
and is thus still within samsara.

There was
once a bhiksu in
China
called the "Fourth Dhyana Monk," who was deceived in this way about his
attainment. After his experience of the meditation-body of the fourth dhyana, which he took to be a spiritual body, he was
shocked that he could not retain it after his meditation. He exclaimed,
"The Buddha has deceived me! There is no nirvana." He fell into hell.

b. Samadhis of Nirvana. The meditator may practice and attain the samadhi of the Hinayana nirvana, but mistake this for the Diamond Samadhi
of the Buddha's nirvana. The Mahayana points out the difference between them.

c. Different
Nirvanas. Another possible mistake is to confuse the no-remainder nirvana with
the non-abiding nirvana. The former is characterized by cessation of defilement
and an abiding in the Dharmakaya—ultimate salvation
from samsara. The latter is a dynamic state, wherein
the salvation of others continues, and Buddhas continue to appear in many forms out of compassion for sentient beings. Not
abiding anywhere, which characterizes this nirvana, the true state of
salvation, means that one may appear anywhere and in any form, unlimited by
space or time.

4. False
Realizations in Mahamudra and Great Perfection. There
are eight erroneous ways:

a. Holding on
to enjoyment (ananda) will only result in rebirth in
the desire-heavens (kamavacaradevas).

b. Clinging to
the appearance of light will give birth in the heavens of form (rupavacaradevas).

c. Holding
fast to non-discrimination gives birth among the devas of formlessness (arupavacaradevas).

d. If viewing
the Dharmakaya as the autumn sky, one clings to such
an experience, this will result in birth in the sphere of infinite space (akasanantyayatana).

e. If one
holds to the view that everything is consciousness-only, this will lead to
birth in the sphere of infinite consciousness (vijnananantyayatana).

f. Holding
that everything is nothing, requiring no action, will only result in existence
in the sphere of no things (akincanyayatana).

g. Thinking
of only neither-perception-nor-nonperception will of
course lead to birth in that sphere (naivasamjnanasamjnayatana).

h. If one's
attainment of voidness is perfected, but one lacks bodhicitta and great compassion, then one falls into the voidness of the Hinayana and only
obtains realization there.

5. Fallings
in the
ChanSchool

According to
the Chan patriarch
Cao Shan
,
there are three fallings:

a. If one
does not cut off voice and form, this is the falling of pursuing worldly
things, and should certainly be abandoned.

b. If one
says, "I shall be the same as a white bull (the Dharmakaya),"
this is falling into uniformity.

c. If one
does not take food, this is the fall of false nobility (being too much
concerned with the Dharmakaya). One must take food
and attain the functions of the Sambhogakaya and Nirmanakaya.

6. The Four
Forbidden Things

a. Do not go
the way of mentality (mind-only).

b. Do not
wear the cloth of nature (talk about "natural holiness" or purity,
etc.).

c. Have no
concern for the bare instant (becoming involved in the three times).

d. Never take
advantage for meditation of the moment of the unborn. (In false Chan one is
instructed not to think, and that when the mind is
cleared of thought, one attains Chan. This is no-Chan or dead Chan.)

Commented Mr. Chen:
"See my 'Lighthouse in the
Ocean
of
Chan
' for some
examples of this."

7. Conclusion
of False Realization

According to
my experience, I will give some reliable and useful methods for examining
realizations.

Do not test
them according to whether or not one has supernormal powers, because the first
five powers may be gained by non-Buddhists as well as Buddhists. If one has
these powers, that is good; if one does not—never
mind. The real testing should be according to three important conditions:

a.
Transformation of Philosophy. There must have been a philosophic
transformation, in which one has a comprehensive and well detailed knowledge of
the way: through faith in and purification by the Hinayana,
Mahayana sublimation in the void and the complementary development of bodhicitta, and thence on to knowledge of the five sorrows
and how they are transformed into the five wisdoms. All these doctrines should
have been studied thoroughly. If one's studies are complete, there can be no
doubt remaining as to where one stands regarding realization. One will then
know precisely one's attainment; thus, uprightly and with faithful examination,
one avoids the dangers of self deception. Even if one knows Buddhist philosophy
well and has a good grasp of the whole meditation system as we have outlined
it, still one has to know oneself: "What is my character? What are my
predominant sorrows?" Standing on a foundation of philosophic knowledge
and transformation, one may reliably judge any realization.

b.
Transformation of Mind. Unless one has a mental transformation, one will be
merely a scholar. One should first pinpoint karma from previous lives. One
should make a thorough self-inquiry: "What bodhicitta has been developed in me? What powers of examination or insight do I possess
now?" One question summarizes all the others: "How have I
changed?" If one cannot honestly report any change for the better, then
one has made no progress in meditation, let alone possessing realization. If
change is seen, then it must be correctly evaluated by comparison with our
knowledge of the characteristics of our ultimate goal—Buddhahood.
One should be able to see by examination, even from day to day, an ever
improving change in inner mental actions. For example: "At first I had no
mercy (maitri) but now…"

Always
remember that one is trying to change from an ordinary human being into a Buddha.
If one is able to maintain visualization or see the yidam and multitudes of Buddhas, but at the same time keeps
one's selfish old human mind—then what is the use? Real progress means that
human mentality is continuously transformed into the mind of a Buddha—this is
of the essence.

One should
also ask oneself, "Have I even enough merit to become an arhat, let alone reaching the goal of Buddhahood?
This is a way of cutting oneself down to size. I know that many Mahayanists say
that this is a selfish ideal, but when one looks around for noble-hearted and
compassionate bodhisattvas these appear to be few. Indeed, many teachers
trumpeted as great by their followers (or even by themselves) have not even a
small part of the nobility of the venerable arhats of
the Hinayana. I do not see such noble ones as these
among so many "bodhisattvas."

Just as we
may judge others' minds by what they reveal in their daily actions, so we may
judge ourselves, seeing the change in our own minds, and this will give us iron
proof of the state of our realization.

c.
Transformation of the Physical Body. After the transformations in philosophy
and psychology comes consideration of physical transformation. Even as a result
of Hinayana meditations, we know that before he or
she passes away, an arhat may exhibit eighteen forms
of supernormal power, effecting wonderful bodily changes. The body must change
along with the other constituents of the person. Progress in meditation is
sometimes judged by the extent to which one has the ability to effect bodily
changes at will. Thus, at first one may only be able to cure or to ward off
minor diseases; with greater practice the body may become much stronger, and
ability in old age to transform it into a youthful condition shows even greater
powers. However, be warned of judging realization by such abilities, for non-Buddhists
may also do such things.

In the Vajrayana, it is easy to judge realization by bodily
transformation. By the practice of this yana's meditations, the body is transformed into wisdom-light, human channels into
wisdom-channels, and human energy into the wisdom-energy of a Buddha. A limited
realization of these Vajrayana techniques is measured
by the ability to make the body into a very small, compact mass; greater
attainment is seen in one who leaves behind only hair and nails when cremated,
while the highest "normal" realization is disappearance into wisdom-light
at the time of "death." Higher still is the ability to retain the
body (as in the case of Padmasambhava) while at the
same time having Full Enlightenment.

Therefore,
examine oneself in this way: "Has my body become more comfortable,
stronger, lighter, etc.?" Such changes indicate progress and realization
according to their quality.

Readers may
examine all these proofs for themselves, and they are, you must admit, very
clear matters, allowing of no mistake unless by gross self-deception.

In
conclusion, I should like to say that I do indeed wish that you gain Full
Enlightenment thoroughly and more quickly than myself,
so that you may guide all the other readers to gain themselves these three
transformations—at that time the aim of this book will have been achieved.